The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1887-03-19
THE ORIGIN OF Sony MARYLAND"
of an Old College Song-The One
Great Lyric of the War.

Great Lyric Oh the wal.
In recent address before the Mary
land Line Confederate Association,
Major Dawson said:
It was Baltimore woman who gave
to the South the one great lyric of the
war. Written by James r. Randall,
of Maryland, 1t was, in a moment of
Inspiration, set to the air Of an old COLI
leRe song, and thus was the undyiDg
music ssmarried to immortal verse;"
Mrs. Hetty Cary Martin kindly con-
sents to tell the story:
| "After our bridges were burned by
Baltimore militia TO prevent the pass
age of Northern troops, one Of the reg
iments, formed mainly OF young men
of social prominence here, was dis
banded. The men went South in dead
of night with only the clothes they
wore.
cit soon became known among our
friends that boxes of clothing were to
be sent to them from our house. Daily
and nightly meetings were held there
In defiance of the vigilance of the au-
thorities, whose frequent searchings of
the house made 1t known in the papers
as Carbohydrates of Rebellion" Fin
gers aud machines were ceasely at
work subscriptions came freely In.
On stormy nights boxes were packed
and shipped from the stable In our
rear. These were sent directly to Gen.
Lee, who told me that he had himself
seen to forwarding them to our boys.
Danger and daring kept every heart on
fire. The girls who worked and the
boys who watched for a chance to slip
through the lines to Dixie formed a
glee club, and their enthusiasm found
vent in such patriotic songs rs could be
written or adapted to suit their needs.
"One evening early In June my sis
ter, young lady, had charge OF the
programme, the club meeting at our
house. With young girls eagerness
to score success, she resolved to secure
some new and ardent expression of
feelings, by this time wrought up to
the point of explosion. In vain she
searched through her stock of words
aud airs; nothing seemed intense
enough to suit the occasion. Aroused
! by her tone of despair, l came to the
rescue with the suggestion that she
should adapt the words Of maryland,
My Maryland which had been con-
stantly on my lips since tho appearance
of the lyric few days before In The
Baltimore South. 1 produced the pa.
per and began declaiming the verses.
sLauriger Hauriger Horatius y she
exclaimed, and in flash the immortal
song found voice in the stirring air so
perfectly adapted TO ii.
t'That night, when her voice rang
! hn az ho fou !,
from every throat present, without
pause or preparation, and the enthusi>
asm communicated itself with such
effect to the crowd assembled beneath
our open windows as to endanger
seriously the liberties of the party.
ga few weeks later 1t had become
impossible to forward the supplies, OF
which we had still on hand several
large trunks full.
| "My brother was about TO leave for
the army, and I concluded to risk
running the blockade with him, taking
my sister also, to furnish more plausi,
BILE excuse for leaving Baltimore with
very undue amount OF luggage.
"With some difficulty and not a
little danger our party was finally
landed in dead of night on Virginia
shores. My sister and I kept guard
over the trunks while my brother
secured the vicinity in search of con-
veyance to Stratford, a few miles dis.
tant from our point Of landing, and
the birth place of our friend and kins,
man, Gen. II. T.. Lee.
"An old hay wagon, drawn by II
very largo OK and very small mule
guided by ropes and goaded with IA
hickory pole) was finally secured, and
In this striking conveyance we made
| our triumphant entry into the Confcd-
| crate States.
Cup to this time l had worn on
my person flag bearing the Maryland
coat OF arms and presented by Balti-
more women to the Maryland troops
In the Southern army. Iu addition to
| the discomfort of this unwonted article
of apparel, I had suffered no small
amount ofanxiety lest the paint, which
was quite fresh, should sustain injury,
breeze the moment we were safe in
Dixie.
"My brother cut pole, we raised
the banner alott, and, perched upon
our trunks, jolted up aud down hill to
Stratford In the early dawn of that
fair 4th Of July, making the Virginia
woods ring with "Maryland, my
Maryland =
"The story of our adventures soon
| reached home the laid and comfort
given to the enemy were greatly